


Once Upon a Dream

by Rose_Ten_Yes



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-19
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-04-29 19:23:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5139641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Ten_Yes/pseuds/Rose_Ten_Yes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Smith, aka the Doctor, has lived in the forest his entire life. Everything changes when he meets the beautiful Rose and then finds out he is actually Prince Theta Sigma.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor goes out to pick berries and talk to his animal friends. Sarah Jane, Martha, and Donna set up his birthday party.

The Doctor woke up to a small bird perched on his chest. He smiled at it and it chirped before flying out the window it had probably come from. Martha came in with his breakfast and tutted at him.  
"You'll get sick if you keep your window open all the time."  
"I like to fall asleep watching the stars," the Doctor said defensively, just like he did almost every morning. "I can't do that if the window is latched shut and you won't let me sleep outside." He sat up in bed and took his cereal from her.  
"It's for your own good."  
"But I'm an adult now!" he protested. "I should be allowed to do whatever I want!"  
"When you live in your own house you can sleep in the garden all you want. For now, you obey our rules." Martha made her way out of his bedroom after lecturing him on a few more things. The Doctor finished eating and got dressed. He knew the rules were sensible and gave him a large amount of freedom, but he hated being indoors. So, after pecking Sarah Jane on the cheek and trading insults with Donna, he was out the door to pick berries.

* * *

  
"It's finally the day," Sarah Jane said nervously. "The Master's curse."  
"We just have to keep an eye on him for another twenty-four hours," Martha looked out the window to watch him and his dog K-9 walk the narrow path out of sight, "and he can go back to the palace."  
"That man gets in trouble too much," Donna muttered as she furiously stitched at blue fabric. "It'll be a miracle if he survives the day." The other two women shared a look. Maybe they should have kept John, the Doctor as he liked to be called, inside the cottage for the day. But their animal friends were keeping an eye on him. That would have to be enough.  
Martha pulled down a cookbook from the shelf. "I'm going to make him a cake this year. Chocolate. Ball bearings. He'll love it." Both Sarah Jane and Donna felt mildly worried. Martha was not known for her skills in the kitchen.  
"I'll clean," Sarah Jane decided as she watched Donna make John a new suit and Martha scowl in concentration at the book.

* * *

  
The Doctor wandered the forest. He had easily filled his berry basket and now was free to enjoy the morning without being watched by his caretakers. He loved them, but they were rather restrictive. No going too far away. No talking to strangers. No touching spinning wheels, for whatever reason.  
A bird chirped at him from a nearby branch. After a moment he realized it was the same bird from earlier. "Hello, little guy!" He set his basket down and held out a hand. It fearlessly left its branch to perch on his hand. K-9 growled at it. “Oh, don't be rude, K-9. Say hello!” The dog did the best he could to scowl at the bird and ignored the Doctor.

“It's nice to talk to someone new,” the Doctor told the bird, who looked a bit like his name should be Steve. “Can I call you Steve?” The bird didn't seem to mind, so he stuck with the name. “I had a wonderful dream last night, you know. A beautiful princess who was interesting to listen to and loved listening to me.” Another bird, the Doctor’s friend Sheldon, came nearby. Two deer, Samuel and Sally, also poked their heads up from the flowers they had been eating.

“Story time, is it?” The Doctor took his coat off and laughed as Steve flew away only to stand on K-9’s head. “Well, we were in this magnificent ballroom, just like the one in that book Sarah Jane would read every night. The princess and I danced all night and it was…” he fished for the perfect word. “Fantastic? No, how about… molto bene! Yes, that describes it.”

K-9 barked just then, but the Doctor wasn't paying attention to his dog at the moment. He was wrapped up in his dream. “She had beautiful blonde hair and the sweetest smile and the prettiest voice you've ever heard. We talked about everything from the stars to our favorite books to odd-colored flowers.” K-9 suddenly jumped at a nearby bush and someone shrieked.

* * *

“Well this didn't go as planned,” Martha said. Donna nodded. The cake had nearly burst into flames, but Sarah Jane had luckily slipped while holding a bucket of water. She had also accidentally poured water all over Donna which caused her to tear a huge gash in the suit.

“I think this calls for-” Donna started.

“It's too dangerous!” Sarah Jane interrupted.

“It's the last day! We've avoided trouble for this long, I'm sure just a little cheating won't hurt anyone,” Martha said.

“Yeah! Just to fix everything up. A few minutes won't hurt anything.”

“I suppose,” Sarah Jane relented.

Using magic did help, at least with the cleaning and the baking. Unfortunately Martha and Sarah Jane had got in a little argument over the correct color suit. “Brown!” Sarah Jane insisted.

“Are you kidding? Blue!” Martha zapped the suit.

“Brown!” Sarah Jane zapped it back. They went back and forth for several minutes before Donna scowled, closed her magazine, and grabbed both their wands.

“That's enough magic for today. I'm putting these away.” She marched away and Martha and Sarah Jane looked at the suit. It was brown with a blue shirt underneath.


	2. The Princess

It took the Doctor a short while to get K-9 away from the person in the bush. When the woman finally stood up he felt his jaw drop. She was the princess from his dream, but not. This real-life (he pinched himself just to make sure) woman’s hair was a slightly different shade of blonde and she was a bit shorter, but these things made her even more perfect somehow.

“Sorry!” the woman said, blushing. She kept talking while avoiding the Doctor’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to spy on you, I swear! I was just out for a walk-well, ride-and I heard you talking.” A horse broke through the trees.

“You have a horse!” The Doctor immediately tried to pet the beautiful white horse, but it shirked away.

“Arthur’s a bit shy.” They made eye contact for the first time.

“Have we met?” the Doctor asked. It was the only reason he could think of for her resemblance to his fantasy princess. Even her speech sounded similar. A coy smile came across her lips that took his breath away.

“Why, of course.” She took a step closer. Suddenly remembering his caretakers’ warnings about strangers, he took a step back.

“When?”

“Once upon a dream.”

“That’s not an answer,” he stuttered. She laughed and stepped closer again. He did not step back.

“But it’s true.” She put a hand on his shoulder. It was warm and sent shivers down his body. “We were in a ballroom and you wore a pinstriped suit. We danced all night and talked about everything.” How did she know about the pinstripes? Maybe they had met once. She must have sensed his newfound belief in her because she smiled a more natural smile. “I’m Rose. What’s your name?” Rose. It fit her perfectly.

“The Doctor.” He, unsure what to do, put his own hand on her shoulder. Rose giggled and moved his hand to her waist.

“Do you want to dance, Doctor?” They started swaying.

“There’s no music,” he said quietly.

“So?”

They danced and talked for what seemed like hours before the Doctor realized he had to be home. “I have to go,” he said apologetically as they untangled. “My… family…. is waiting for me.”

“Can I see you again?” Rose asked as she picked up his coat.

“I’m having a birthday party tonight,” he blurted. “There’s a cottage a mile or so east from here.”

“Alright,” Rose said happily.

“It starts an hour before sunrise.” He blushed. “I’m not supposed to know about it. They wanted it to be a surprise party but Donna’s really loud.”

“I’ll be there,” Rose promised.

 

The Doctor swept through the doors singing an off-key rendition of the song that had played in his dream. Martha looked at him, slightly confused, before going back to reading her medical journals. He danced through the main room, giving Donna the basket of berries before throwing himself into a chair. Usually he loved standing, but he was growing tired of being on his feet.

“What took you so long?” Donna asked.

“I met someone,” he said with a dreamy voice. His caretakers traded looks. Martha put her books down slowly.

“You met someone?” Sarah Jane clarified. This could not possibly end well.

“She’s perfect,” he said. “And amazing and wonderful and she’s coming to the party!”

“You know about the party?” Donna asked, stunned. Martha hit her lightly on the arm.

“You know what we warned you about strangers!” Martha scolded. The Doctor barely listened. “John, you can’t just tell total strangers where you live!”  
“But we aren’t strangers! We’ve met before.”

“When?” asked Donna.

“Once upon a dream. I think I’m going to marry her.” The three looked at each other. Sarah Jane was the one to speak up.

“You can’t marry her.”

“What?” He stood up and scowled at the trio. “Why not?”

“You’re already engaged.”

“Since when?”

“Since, well, birth in a way.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem very fair. Why don’t I get a say in this?”

“You…” Martha trailed off. After a moment, she continued. “It’s to preserve the peace.” When the Doctor looked at her confused, Donna spoke.

“You’re engaged to the princess of our neighboring kingdom.” He blinked. “You’re a prince.”

“I’m a prince?” He raised an eyebrow. “‘Cause I know you always call me the King of Arrogance Land, but I’m pretty sure that place doesn’t exist.”

“You’re prince Theta Sigma. Of _this_ kingdom and today is the today you get to return to the palace.”

“But-but-”

“We’re telling the truth,” Sarah Jane said quietly. Part of the Doctor knew they weren’t lying, somehow, but most of him was still angry about his engagement to some princess that he really did not care about at all.

“I don’t care,” he said. “I’m going to marry Rose and that’s final. You can’t do anything about it!”

* * *

Far, far away, the Master smiled as his favorite bird flew threw the open window. The bird turned into a woman who was in the middle of saying, “What kind of name is Steve, really?” when she looked up at the Master sitting on his ebony throne.

“Hello, Lucy. Did you find anything interesting?” She swallowed. This was her final trial. After her previous failures to find Theta Sigma, the Master was on his last straw.

“Yes. I found him.” The Master’s eyes widened and he stood.

“Are you sure, Lucy?”

“Yes!” She stepped back. “And the fairies Sarah Jane, Martha, and Donna. They’ve been watching over him in the Enchanted Forest.”

“Of course.” He sat down again. “Did anything happen?”

“He doesn’t want to be prince. And, he met Princess Briar Rose.” The Master snorted.

“The Tylers. Weak people who don’t deserve to rule Vitex.”

“I think Theta is smarter than we were hoping. He calls himself Doctor and talks about equations in his sleep.” Unable to resist, she added, “but he can’t tell a male bird from a female bird.”


	3. Princess Briar Rose

Briar Rose (or just Rose, as she preferred) went home with a giddy feeling in her heart. The Doctor was just like the man she dreamed about and he had been dreaming about her too! It had to be fate. Who cared about Theta Sigma...

Oh. Right. Theta Sigma. Her to-be husband whom she had never met. The Gallifreyan prince had disappeared when he was only a week old, years before Rose was born. His parents seemed convinced that he was still around. Rose had her doubts, but in a world of fairies and curses it was entirely probable that he was hidden away somewhere due to some prophecy. That didn't matter. Rose had decided to marry the Doctor and no prince was going to stop her.

She left Arthur with the stable-hand and went inside the palace. Her best friend followed her as she made her way to the throne room. "Where have you been, Rose? Your mum's been panicking!" Mickey said.

"I told her I was going for a ride."

"Did you really?"

"I told Dad to tell her." They reached the throne room. Rose pushed the doors open.

"ROSE!" Jackie hopped off her throne and ran for her daughter. "What happened? Are you safe?"

"Didn't Dad tell you I was going out for a little while?" Jackie shot a glare over her shoulder to her husband.

"No, he didn't."

"I'm okay mum, don't worry. Actually, I've got something to tell you."

"I have something first," Jackie said hurriedly. "You know Theta Sigma?"

"Of course."

"He's coming back today!" Rose's heart dropped. The King and Queen of Gallifrey had made an arrangement with Rose's parents that their children would marry. It had taken Pete and Jackie years to have Rose, and by that time Theta Sigma had long since disappeared. But if he was coming back then that meant the agreement was still in place.

"What?"

"He's been in hiding, but today he's being brought back to the palace," said Pete. "Your wedding is next week."

Rose had known about her engagement her entire life, but it was something of a shock for her nonetheless. "No," she said after a moment.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Jackie shrieked.

"I've found my own husband," Rose told her. "I'm going to marry him and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"You can't!" Jackie shouted. "You know the only reason Harold Saxon doesn't attack us is because Gallifrey protects us!" Rose wasn't listening. She was already turning and running away from her mother and Mickey. "Rose!"

"I'll go after her," Mickey said to Jackie as he began following Rose.

* * *

Rose took Arthur back to the forest where she had met the Doctor. She found his house easily, but no one was home. "Is this the wrong place?" she asked herself. "Did he lie to me?"

Unknown to Rose, two of the birds watching were actually fairies in disguise. One turned to the other and chirped.  _Is this the girl he was talking about?_

The other chirped back.  _I think so... say, doesn't she look like the princess?_  

"I hope he didn't lie," continued Rose. "I really don't want to marry Theta Sigma." Arthur shrugged as much as a horse could. The birds looked at each other again.

_Briar Rose!_ cheeped the bird known as Sarah Jane.

_We'll need her help to restore John and the others!_  responded Donna. Together they turned back into human form. "Briar Rose!" Donna said happily. "It's you!"

"How'd you get there?" Rose wished she had brought her sword. And that she had paid more attention in fencing class.

"We live here," said Sarah Jane. "We protect John, well, the Doctor... well, Theta Sigma."

"The _Doctor_ is Theta Sigma?" Rose said incredulously. "Like I'm going to believe that."

"He is!" shouted Donna. "And he's in trouble. The Master took him." Rose scowled. She knew about him. Harold Saxon was his real name, but he went by the Master. Her parents had had a lot of trouble with him over the years.

"Alright," something in her knew that the two were telling the truth, "Where is he?"

"At the castle. He's been put under a spell so he and the entire palace are asleep."

"Who's watching them?" Rose got up on Arthur.

"Our friend Martha. But the Master is going to want John dead. You'll have to fight him!" The two flew after Rose as she rode Arthur towards the castle in the distance.

"You don't have a sword or anything!" Donna yelled, trying to keep up with Rose.

"How is a sword going to fight a magic spell?"

"Get rid of the Master and the spell is broken!" Rose stopped.

"I have to kill someone?!"

"If you want to save everyone, yes." Sarah Jane made a sword appear out of nowhere. "Here, it's magic. Guaranteed to hit its mark no matter what."

"I appreciate the faith you have in my fencing skills," Rose said dryly. "How will I even find the Master in that huge place?" As if in answer, a large purple dragon curled itself around the palace and blew green smoke into the air.

"That's him," Donna said.

"You're kidding."

* * *

Martha hovered over the sleeping king and queen. She looked to the window where she could see part of the dragon. "This is going to be fun," she muttered. The prince was locked away somewhere and she couldn't find him. The only hope was that Princess Briar Rose was somewhere nearby and could find Theta Sigma to break the spell.

The one other awake person frowned at the dragon outside. Martha had tied her up once she'd realized how the woman evaded the spell. "He's put a magic barrier around the place," the woman said. "It's impossible to get through."

"We'll see about that," Martha said. "Why'd he give you that resistance potion, anyway?"

"Harry's my husband. He wanted me to keep watch inside, just in case someone got in."

"You're doing such a great job of that." Martha looked at the magic rope keeping Lucy in her chair with a raised eyebrow. "How do I get past the barrier?"

"Like I'd tell!" Martha crossed her arms and flew to be directly in front of Lucy.

"You don't know, do you? He didn't trust you enough to tell you."

"He trusts me! All you need is true love to get past it!" Lucy grinned victoriously until she realized she had just told Martha how to get through. "Wait! I was lying."

"Sure you were." Knowing Lucy wouldn't be able to do anything tied to a chair, Martha flew off to the servant's entrance in the back of the castle. A woman on a horse flanked by two fairies was coming closer with every second. They stopped several yards from the door and the woman got off her horse.

"Is there a force field? It feels like there is," Donna said.

"It can be broken by true love," Martha said. "How'd you know to come to the servant's door?"

"We weren't going to go marching through the main entrance!" Donna rolled her eyes.

"True love?" asked the woman.

"You love him," Sarah Jane said.

"I've only known him for a day."

"That's plenty of time," Donna said. The woman tentatively took a step closer to Martha. Another step. She ran the rest of the way to the door. Sarah Jane and Donna followed.

"I thought only people who truly loved him could get in."

"It didn't say anything about romantic love," Donna pointed out. "We've been caring for him for years. Why would we do that if we didn't love him?"

"I suppose." She smiled at Martha. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rose."

"Briar Rose?"

"Yup." Rose brushed her hair out of her face. "The Doctor's somewhere in here?"

"The Master hid him," Martha said. "I don't know where."

"Knowing the Master, in the tallest tower," Sarah Jane said. "I think that's the western tower."

"Or," Donna said. "We could go up that staircase and see where we end up." They all looked to the small staircase lit with an eerie green glow.

"Oh." Martha looked back down the hallway leading to the ballroom. "I'll stay down here and keep an eye on Lucy and the rest of the royal family."

"Alright," Rose said. "So me, Sarah Jane, and Donna go up?"

"It's probably best if one of us stays down here at the bottom of the stairs to keep watch." Sarah Jane shrugged. "I'll do it."

"Just you and me, then, blondie," Donna said. "C'mon, let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

Rose and Donna went up the stairs silently. At the top was a heavy wooden door. Rose opened it to reveal a large room with the Doctor lying on a bed in the middle. There was a large window across the room from the door where they could see part of the dragon.

"We just have to get him out of here without the Master noticing. Then you'll have to fight the Master and hopefully win," Donna said. They carefully crept to the bed and pulled the Doctor off. They carried him to the door and had almost made it when the dragon's eye appeared in the window.

"Take him downstairs!" Rose said and let go of the Doctor's legs. Donna stumbled a bit but nodded and started dragging him away. Rose closed the door and turned to face the Master. She ran to the window with the magic sword in her hand. The dragon was busy trying to figure out where the staircase ended to notice Rose, and she took advantage of that and climbed out the window. She jumped onto his back. The Master bucked, but she held on as tightly as she could. Trying a new tactic, he flew up into the air and turned upside down. No longer sitting on him, only holding on with one hand, Rose dangled helplessly. The Master turned to face her.

"The Vitex princess," he growled. "Lucy mentioned you. I never thought you'd be an actual problem." Rose tried to hold up the sword, but gravity was too strong. He laughed as well as he could. Dragons aren't good at laughing.

"I'm gonna rescue everyone from you," she declared. "Just you watch." She looked down. Falling would be very painful, not to mention deadly. She looked back at the Master.

"How are you planning on doing that?"

"Like this!" She threw the sword with all her strength. Didn't they say it would go wherever she aimed?  _Aim for the heart_ , she told it silently. The sword did as told, but the dragon's scales were impenetrable. It fell to the ground.

'I'm so scared." The Master flew, still upside down, back down to the palace and let Rose down on the tower's roof. For a moment she was confused, but then he opened his mouth and she remembered. Fire. She jumped off the roof right as he blew angry purple fire where she had been. She slid down the slanted roof and grabbed onto a large gargoyle at the bottom of it. She hid behind the statue and watched as the Master looked for her remains in the fire. In the nearby window she saw the window cleaner's equipment and had an idea.

Rose made her way to the window and climbed in. She got all the rope she could find and crawled back to the gargoyle. She tied one end of the rope to the gargoyle and waited. Moments later the Master's tail swung into view.  She jumped on and started tying. The Master growled and flew up again, intending to drop her. Rose held on and grinned when the Master was unable to go very high because of the gargoyle's weight. Now that the Master was stuck, she used the remaining rope to slide close to the ground. It wasn't close enough, but luckily she was near a window. Donna was just passing the window and looked up to see Rose dangling.

"I lost the sword you gave me," Rose said. Donna sighed, created a new sword, opened the window, and tossed it to her. "I can't get past his scales."

"Aim for his mouth," she suggested. Rose nodded and looked back up at the Master. He had just noticed her and was opening his mouth to breathe fire when Rose threw the sword up. She told it to go inside his mouth, and the sword moved with amazing speed, hitting the Master before he could breathe any fire. The Master began choking and thrashing, letting Rose close enough to drop safely to the ground. She ran as the Master collapsed, dead.

* * *

Rose found Donna still bringing the Doctor's unconscious body down the stairs and helped her carry him the rest of the way. "I didn't want to use magic on him when he's already been cursed. Mixing spells is never a good idea," Donna said. Soon enough they made it back to Sarah Jane, who was still at the bottom of the stairs.

"Is the Master dead?" she asked. Rose nodded. Martha came flying in.

"Everyone's waking up," she said happily. "I explained that Lucy was a spy for the Master and had helped him take control of the castle. They'll take care of her." They all looked down at the Doctor. "He's still sleeping, though."

"I thought killing the Master was supposed to wake him," Rose said. The three fairies shrugged.

"Spells are weird things," Sarah Jane said.

"Maybe you should kiss him," Donna suggested. "Spells might be weird, but true love is even weirder." Rose nodded.

"If you think it'll work." She bent down to where the Doctor was on the ground and placed a kiss on his lips. Slowly, his eyes opened.

"Rose?" he asked sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to rescue you." He smiled.

"Well, thanks." He stumbled to his feet. "So I suppose you know I'm actually Theta Sigma?"

"They told me," Rose said gesturing to his three caretakers. "I guess that means we'll be getting married."

"What?"

"My name's actually Briar Rose. Princess Briar Rose Tyler." His eyes widened.

"What are the odds of that?" He didn't wait to let her answer, he was too busy encompassing her in a back-breaking hug.


End file.
